Custom Jewelry Designs

(regarding a custom moissanite engagement ring)

Hi Beth,

I wanted to give you an update.  I got engaged recently and my fiancee
absolutely loves the ring.  There’s just one problem — her co-workers
are a little jealous!  The moissanite is so sparkly and the ring looks
a little too good.

We decided to go to the mall to see what kind of wedding band would
look nice with it.  In the first store we went to, the woman asked if
she could clean the ring.  We said sure and we were both nervous that
somehow the woman would know it wasn’t diamond and would say something
but she didn’t say anything or seem suspicious.  At the next store,
which even used to sell moissanite, the employee was taken aback when
he saw the ring and said “oh, wow!”  He put a normal diamond wedding
band next to it, but it looked dull in comparison so he steered us
toward their most expensive wedding bands.  We took the ring to
Tiffany’s and they asked us if it was a Tiffany Novo ring.  The only
diamond ring we saw that could compare to the moissanite was an actual
Hearts on Fire.  I guess it’s just the way they cut it.  Nobody had
any idea that her ring was anything other than a very high quality
diamond ring.

We’re in the process of choosing a wedding band to go with it and
we’re planning on having either pink moissanite or pink sapphire in
it. . . .

A

Being in the engagement ring business, we get to hear about a lot of marriage proposals. This one is tops in our book! As one of the couple’s friends put it, “Dear god, I’m speechless. What a great story!” We couldn’t agree more.

Of course, along with a fabulous description of the magical trip is a nice little blurb about the custom engagement that we were lucky enough to help with, along with some really great photos. So, we have to boast a little bit here and showcase not only a fab proposal but some of our handy work. Thanks for the pics of the finished piece, Steve and Gina, they turned out way better than anything we could ever have come up with in our little studio! Have a look at this magical experience for yourself here.

An excerpt from the post:
<<A few details about the ring since I know some of you are curious… Gina really wanted a split shank so that was a must. We looked at many rings over the past year and ended up with a few specific settings that were her favorites. In the end, I decided to take those designs and have her ring custom made to incorporate all the elements she liked best. She absolutely loves how it turned out and I do too, so hats off to the jeweler!>>

Ok, so we have to throw in a few pics of the custom process, just to help anyone out there thinking of doing this themselves. As Steve put it, they combined features of several pieces to make something truly unique and special to them.

Thanks again for the opportunity to help you with your ring, Steve and Gina, it was a lot of fun for us as well! And congratulations to you both!

Update from Joe: Here’s one of the best wedding videos we’ve seen. You two keep outdoing yourselves!
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/33067815[/vimeo]

Our long time friend Francesca came to us to make a custom 18kt yellow gold wedding band for her and her husband Leo’s 50th wedding anniversary. She wanted an old world feel, something that looks used and worn, something heavy that feels nice to the touch and smooth to wear. Fran liked the way a pair of her earrings looked and thought they could be the inspiration for the piece that would signify their special day.

The wedding band in the image with the earrings was the original wedding ring that Fran’s father gave to her mother. This piece, of course, is extremely sentimental to Fran and her family. We can only hope that the ring we made for Fran will someday have a similar meaning to her family.

Have you thought of a family heirloom that you would like to create? If so, we would be honored to help you with this!

Note from Joe. Every year during the holidays it seems that I have one project that I pay particular attention to, one that captures my interest more than the others. This past season it was a necklace for my dear friends Peter and Liliana. It was a lot of fun working with Peter on this piece, choosing the aquamarine, working with the wax carver, working with the goldsmith, doing all that we do to make a custom piece of jewelry. It was big fun for me partly because of whom this piece was for, as both Peter and Liliana are special to me, and partly because I got to play with one of my designs! So thank you Peter for this!

View this Joe Jewelry piece in our custom jewelry section

Looking forward to wearing it all weekend.  I want to thank you, Joe, very much for your  prompt service and the beautiful design you created for me.  Will be in touch when I am ready for a bracelet.  Bev

Custom Claddagh Engagement Ring With Wedding Band

Custom Claddagh Engagement Ring

I was able to pick up the rings from Fedex this afternoon, but was only able to really get a chance to look at them now. They both look spectacular! It really came out better than I could have hoped for! I think the ruby heart surrounding the pink center stone really makes a statement, and is certainly something I’ve never seen before! No one could say no to a ring like that! I also love how well the wedding band fits in with the engagement ring. It really fits together perfectly, just like they were made to. Certainly a sign of an excellent craftsman! Thank you for all your help and for putting up with me! I will be sure to tell you how and when the proposal goes down (haven’t quite decided on details just yet) but I know I will certainly be calling on you again for pieces in the future. Of that I am sure!

Thank You so very, very much!

For more custom ideas visit our Custom Jewelry Design page.

(This customer wanted a blue sapphire for the center stone.)

Hey Beth!  It’s Paul P.  We did business a couple of months ago.  You helped me with my engagement ring and later the wedding bands for my wife and I.

I just wanted to let you know that everything went great and we love the rings!  Thank you so much!

We were going through the archives and found this custom palladium engagement ring from a while back. The center stone is a pink moissanite and the side stones are natural diamonds. The pictures are courtesy of our customer.

Example of a Semi-Custom Ring

This is a great example of how you can take a standard, stock item and customize it to make an affordable, completely unique, one of a kind item just for you.

Our client came to us with a design idea they found. The original design had an antique style with a pink center stone, pave set side diamonds and rose gold accents. It is made from a white metal, probably platinum. Our customer wanted a ring created that incorporated these main elements – and fit into his budget.

Now we’re not certain what the inspirational ring cost but by looking at the size of the baguette side diamonds alone, we figure it must be well into the tens of thousands of dollars. It’s a beautiful piece but more than likely a little out of range for most people.

This is where our semi-custom jewelry design fits in. We were able to take a standard, stock item and customize it to give the look and feel of our customer’s original idea and fit it into his budget.

For this piece we started with a 14kt white gold casting. We set moissanite stones down the sides of the shank and small diamonds on the halo surrounding the center stone. The white gold prongs were replaced with rose gold prongs. We then opened up the side gallery slightly and added rose gold filigree scrolls for a subtle two tone accent.  To finish the piece, we set a cushion cut lab grown pink sapphire as the main, center stone.

As for the final verdict from the customer?

“Hi Joe, thanks very much for the fantastic job on Cher’s ring.  She absolutely loves it!!!!”

Music to our ears!

Customer Design Idea
Create a ring with an antique style, pave set side diamonds, a pink center stone and rose gold accents.

Inspiration for the Original Design Idea

The Stock Ring We Started With

Semi Finished Casting

The Finished Piece

The Finished Design